Living a full life with a cracked cup

My cup is cracked!

I’ll pause while those of you who know me insert whatever punch line you think best at this point.

Now, let’s get back to my cup being cracked. It should be full. I should be able to say enthusiastically with the psalmist David, “My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:5b-6). I’ve been blessed almost beyond belief.

Some days I feel that way. There are times when I sit in church and the heart-felt singing of the church family pops goose pimples up on my arms. But my cup is cracked, my mind wanders, and the next song may seem routine, even boring, to me.

There are moments when I hear a Christian man stand before a church and tell with cracking voice what the love of God has meant in his life. That brings tears to my eyes, but my cup is cracked; the feeling doesn’t last.

Sometimes, my Bible warms my heart intensely. I may read the story of the lost son in Luke 15 and find it amazing all over again that God is a loving father who runs to meet his rebellious rascal of a son who has finally decided to come home. But my cup is cracked; my heart cools quickly.

Or, I get an anonymous card on my desk that reminds me that someone thinks I’m special. For a moment, I feel loved, but the cup is cracked; I’ll soon forget.

How’s your cup? Do you at times have an overwhelming feeling of love from God only to have that feeling slowly seep away? Are there occasions when you feel you’ll almost explode with happiness? Do they last? Or, is your cup cracked, too?

For all of us with cracked cups, there is good news. God is in the refilling business. His mercies “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). Through the love and hope he shares in his word, he refills our cup daily. Through his church, he reaches out and pours love into our hearts every time we meet. Through our quiet times in prayer, he fills us with his presence.

If your cup is cracked, I think that is normal. We don’t ever seem to get enough love, enough reassurance, or enough hope. But if our cup is empty, perhaps we have refused to hold it out to beg of the only one who can fill it.